- US President Donald Trump explores legal possibilities to remove Fed Chair Jerome Powell from office, citing “lack of urgency.”
- Trump has criticized Powell for obstructing the economic growth of the country, claiming he is “too late and wrong.”
US President Donald Trump has openly suggested that he may remove Jerome Powell from his position as the Federal Reserve chair, escalating the existing tension between them. This latest outburst fueled Bitcoin (BTC )’s surge from its daily low of $83k to $85k. At press time, the asset had marginally declined to $84k, printing a 0.48% loss on its daily price chart.
How it All Started
On April 16, Powell disclosed in a speech at the Economic Club of Chicago that the tariff policies of the present administration complicate the goal of the Central Bank. According to him, the Federal Reserve has the responsibility to deliver on its dual mandate, which is managing inflation and employment. However, it has to critically assess the impact of trade tensions on these mandates and look at the timeframe over which this could be resolved.
Meanwhile, Trump has consistently called for an interest rate cut as he claims it is important for economic growth. Saying it all on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump hit out at Powell, claiming he is “too late and wrong.”
According to him, Powell disrupts economic growth with his decisions. Comparing his approach to the European Central Bank (ECB), Trump highlighted a lack of urgency, which could delay progress. Meanwhile, the Bank of America (BOA) has forecast four rate cuts this year, as discussed earlier.
According to our research, the governing council of the ECB has lowered interest rates by 25 basis points. This implies that the deposit facility, main “refinancing operations, and the marginal lending facility would be subjected to 2.25%, 2.40%, and 2.65% reductions, respectively, starting from April 23.
In a recent Bloomberg report, Trump is reported to have engaged his advisors on the legal possibilities of removing Powell from office. Earlier, a Wall Street Journal post also highlighted that there has been a discussion at the White House on this effect.
I’m not happy with him. I let him know it.
Amidst the backdrop of this, BitMex CEO Arthur Hayes has predicted that there could be a rate cut which would trigger a bullish reversal for the Bitcoin price, as indicated in our previous news brief.
Comments on Powell’s Removal and Impact on Bitcoin
Our research shows that Powell’s tenure ends in May 2026. According to legal experts, his removal could be extremely difficult if it is only based on policy disagreement. In any case, the entire process would involve approval by the Senate, making it complicated.
Recently, Senator Elizabeth Warren disclosed that markets in the US could crash if the president fired Powell. Also, Grindery co-founder Tim Delhaes has explained that the general market thrives on perception rather than policies. According to him, the pressure to force an interest rate cut could cause a significant shift in capital to gold, bonds, and Bitcoin, as detailed in our last news piece.
